Men's Cross Country

Brigante Earns Major Award; Kinsman, Martin and Wolf Named in All-Conference Honors

Nov 01, 2017

CASTINE, Maine -- Maine Maritime Academy's John Brigante (Woodbine, Md.) has been named the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Men's Cross Country Senior Scholar Athlete of the Year, while teammate Keenan Martin (Dixfield, Maine) has been named to the NAC Men's Cross Country Sportsmanship Team and both Zachary Kinsman (Lebanon, N.H.) and Aylen Wolf (Surry, Maine) have been named to the NAC Second Team.

Brigante is being recognized for excelling academically and athletically throughout his undergraduate experience. The Marine Systems Engineering major, who is also pursuing a Naval Architecture and Mathematics minor, has taken advantage of all of his opportunities in the classroom and as a leader on the course. He is described as a kind, loyal, and honorable young man who has a standard of devotion to family and friends that is beyond his years. Brigante's honors and achievements are numerous, including being voted by the faculty as the number one student in his major at Maine Maritime Academy. He is a certified rescue diver, the Vice President of the Subsea Engineering Club, a welding and engineering teaching assistant, an academic tutor, as well as a library student supervisor. He is a member of the Maine Maritime Regiment of Midshipmen and has held simultaneously two leadership positions, as the Cadet First Assistant Engineer, a position that maintained plant operation equipment including boilers, evaporators, and diesel generators, and in the start up, maneuvering, and shut down of the vessel procedures for the T/S State of Maine. He also is the Regimental Executive Officer, who is the second in command for over 600 regimental students and is responsible for upholding standards and regulations of the Regiment of Midshipmen. The senior joined cross country late in his collegiate career, while highlighting his short career with a first-place team finish the 2017 Colby Invitational 6K. Most recently he finished eighth on the team at the State of Maine Championships with an 8K time of 34:10, just a second behind his Captain, who he helped pace for the last two miles.

Kinsman, a team captain, earns NAC Second Team honors for the second time in his career. Kinsman placed 15th at the NAC Championship, helping lead the Mariners to a fourth place team finish. Earlier this season Kinsman was the top finisher for the Mariners at the UMass.-Dartmouth Invitational and the Mariner Invitational.

Martin competed in six races for the Mariners this season and was among the top five finishers for the Mariners at the State of Maine Championship and the Bowdoin Invitational. The NAC Men's Cross Country Sportsmanship Team is reserved for those who have distinguished themselves through demonstrated acts of sportsmanship and ethical behavior. The honorees are individuals who have positively affected the sport culture and environment and whose behavior clearly demonstrates sportsmanship and integrity.

Wolf finished 11th to lead the Mariners to a fourth place finish at the NAC Championships and was a consistent top-five finisher for the team throughout the season.

Runner of the Year Grandon Smith, Senior, CastletonRookie of the Year Jeremiah Sands, Freshman, UMaine-FarmingtonSenior Scholar Athlete of the YearJohn Brigante, Senior, Maine MaritimeCoach of the Year Lyndsay Ostler, Sixth Season, Colby-Sawyer